Grinding apparatus



Q 193lan. THEILE 1,7885783 GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 13, 1931. G. THEILE 83 GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Jan 13, 1931'.

G. l. THEILE 1,788,783

GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 v Jan. 13, 1931. e. I. THEILE 1,788,783

GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Jam. 13, 1931. G. THE ILE 1,788,733

\ GRINDING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 19, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Jan. 13, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIOE GEORGE I. THEILE, OF HAMILTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO GEN-- ERAL MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF HAMILTON, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF DELA- WARE GRINDING APPARATUS Application flled January 19, 1925. Serial No. 3,355.

vide means for regulating the pressure of the runners upon the glass plate with great accuracy and nicety, and so constructed as to prevent fracturing of the glass due to excessive pressure being concentrated upon any part of the glass plate. 1

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the description thereof set out below when taken in con- I nection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawing in which like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views thereof,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, of a plate glass grinding machine constructed in accordance with this invention with certain parts thereof broken away to more clearly disclose the features of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through a part of the runner supporting mechanism substantially along the line 2-2 ofFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation, of a part of the lowering and lifting mechanism;

. Fig. 4 is a fragmentary side view of the lowering and lifting mechanism shown in Fig. 3, certain of the parts being shown in section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3; f

6, the view being substantially along the line 7-7 and Fig. 8 is an elevational view of another modified form of the supporting, lifting, and lowering mechanism.

In the apparatus illustrated the grinding table of the plate glass machine is designated by the numeral 10. This table is supported upon a'turntable which may be of any suitable construction the arrangement being such that the grinding table may begiven the desired rotary motion. Mounted upon a suitable foundation is a stationary framework including the uprights 15, which are connected at their tops by means of suitable cross bars 16.

A plurality of runners 18 are provided, each of which is provided with a hollow shaft or runner post 19, guided for circumferential and axial sliding movement in suitable bearings mounted in the stationary framework. Positioned within the hollow shaft 19 is a supporting rod 20, the lower therein for controlling the effective opening through the pipe 24. A suitable thrust hearing, shown as a roller bearing 26 is positioned within the lower part of the cylinder 21 for limiting downward movement of the piston and sustaining the weight of the runner. The dash-pot cylinder is also provided with suitable plain or babbitt lined bearing bushing 27, and with packing 28, which presents a leakage of the fluid or oil' from the cylinder.

Referring now to Fig. 2, the lower part of the cylinder, the part which houses the bushing and the packing is cut away and is secured in a suspension ring or sleeve 3 which is provided with oppositely dispose bosses '31, in each of which is mounted a shaft or stud '32. Links 34 are pivotally mounted at their lower ends upon the studs 32. The upper ends of the links 34 are pivotally mounted upon the ends of pin 40 which pin extends through and is carried by the inner end of the horizontally disposed lever 43. The upper and lower ends of the links 34 are retained upon the respective ends of the shaft 40 and the studs 32 by means of conventional washer and pin connections, indicated generally at 41. It will be seen from the above that the links 34 together with the pin 40, studs 32 and sleeve 30 constitute a yoke for supporting the cylinder 21 which in turn carries the supporting rod 20 and runner 18 secured to the lower end thereof. The piston 22 provides a downwardly facing shoulder and the cylinder 21 provides a cooperating abutment or upwardly facing shoulder which engages the shoulder formed by the piston 22 to support the runner at a definite distance above the grinding table 10. In the embodiment of the apparatus illustrated herein, the roller thrust bearing 26 is provided in the cylinder to engage the shoulder formed by the piston 22, thereby permitting free rotational movement of the runner 18 in its bearings and relative to the cylinder.

The lever 43 is pivotally mounted, intermediate its length, upon the shaft 45, which is in turn mounted within the support 46. This support comprises an upstanding standard which bifurcated at its upper end 'to receive the lever 43, and is suitably supported, as by being rigidly secured to two I-beams 47 which are mounted in spaced relation on top ofthe cross bars 16. This standard 46 has a forked projection 48 thereon, in the fork of which is mounted a vertical pin 49. The ring or sleeve 30 has a lateral extension 50, provided with a passage adapted to receive and slide upon the pin 49, thus guiding the parts during operation.

Referring particularly to Figs. 3 and 4, the outer end of the lever 43 is provided with outstanding bearing pins 53, each of which has pivotally mounted thereon the upper end of a link 54, the lower end of each of these links 54 being pivotally mounted upon a projection or stud 55, carried by the sus pension ring 56. This suspension ring has a passage therein within which is positioned an internally threaded nut 57. The suspension ring is also provided with an extension 58, having a passage therethrough which receives and is adapted to slide upon a guide bar 59, which is rigidly supported within the bracket member 60. The upper end of this bracket member also supports the upper end of the threaded shaft or lifting screw 63, which passes through and cooperates with the nut. 57. The lower end of; this lifting screw is rotatably mounted within the gear housing 64, mounted upon the bracket 60, the extreme lower end of this lifting screw being rotatably mounted within a suitable socket in the cover member 65. Mounted upon the lower end of the lifting screw, and within the gear housing is a gear 68 which meshes with the worm 69, carried by the shaft 70, which is mounted within the gear housing. The other end of this shaft is connected, by means of a suitable coupling 71 to the shaft of the reversible motor 72.

Suitable controls, which are illustrated diagrammatically at 73 and which may be of any conventional character, are provided for the motor.

In the operation of the device, the controls for the motor may be actuated to run the motor in either direction. As the motor operates, its shaft drives the worm (39 and this in turn causes rotation of the lifting screw 63. As the lifting screw rotates in one direction or the other, it raises or lowers the suspension ring 56 and thus lifts or 'depresses the outer end of the lever 43 which is connected to the suspension ring. As a consequence the dash-pot or cylinder 21 is lowered or raised, thereby resulting in a corresponding movement of the runner which is supported therefrom by means of the shaft 20 and piston 22, as already described. During the raising or lowering movements of the runner the dash-pot structure acts as a lost-motion connection in the mechanical connection between the driving shaft and the runner. The plate of glass which it is desired to polish or grind, having been first placed on the table 10, the motor is then operated to lower the dash-pot until the runner comes into engagement with the plate of glass and the weight of the runner is thus gradually applied to the glass. As the high points of the plate are ground off, the dash-pot 21 is then lowered still further so that the entire weight of the runner is then borne by the glass plate. And during continued operation the runner will continue to grind the plate down until the desired cut has been taken off.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that the mechanism described constitutes a mechanical connection between the motor shaft and the runner for controlling the position of the latter with respect to the grinding table 10. The dash-pot or cylinder 21 forms a part of this mechanical connection and is adapted to support the entire weight of the runner l8 and to definitely limit the downward movement thereof with respect to the table 10. If the control is operated.

ion

upon the glass and hence continuous grinding thereof, the grinding o eration being discontinued as the glass reaches the desired thickness as determined by measuring the thickness of the lass or by any othersuitable means. If uring the grinding operation the runner should be raised by riding over any irregularities or high spots in the glass, fracturing of the plateglass after the runner has'been passed over this high spot due to a sudden drop of the runner will-be grevented owing to the fact that the return ownward movement of the runner is restrained by the retarding cylinder construction. Any upward movement of the piston 22 within the cylinder 21 causes a flow of the cushioning fluid from the space above thepiston to the space below the piston through the passage or by-pass 24. as will'be apparent-from Fig. 5. Consequently any subsequent downward movement of the piston 22 and runner 18 is retarded or cushioned by the fluid in the lower part of the cylinder 21, which fluid returns to the upper part of the cylinder through the by-pass 24. The valve 25 in the by-pass 24 may be adjusted to regulate thecushioning action as desired.

It will be noted further that the present invention provides a form of supporting, lifting, and lowering mechanism in which the entire control for each runner is accoms-plished through the operation of the motor 2, and adjustments may be accomplished with great accuracy and nicety.

Figs. 6 and 7 show a somewhat modified form of construction. In this modified form the runner and the means supporting the runner from the piston 122 of the dashpot cylinder 121 are substantially as described above. Also the construction of the daslrpot cylinder itself, and the piston therein are substantially as described above. The supporting ring or'sleeve 100, however, is somewhat different in that it is provided with extensions 101, each having a passage therethrough and adapted to receive a link 102, the upper end of which is pivotally mounted upon a stud 104 extending laterally from a cross head or bar 105. A lifting screw 107 is pivotally connected with cross head 105 by means of the transversely disposed pivot pin 106. The upper portion of the liftmg screw 107 is threa edl mount-- ed within the nut 1'08, whic latter provided at its opposite sides with grooves or slots 123 adapted to form ides for the supporting ring 100 and for t e cross head 105 as shown.

Fig. 8 shows a further modified form of construction in which a lever 243 pivoted at 245 upon a suitable support 246, is provided at its outer end with a toothed gear sector 247, the other end (not shown) being at tached to the runner shaft in any suitable manner, as by means of the construction described above. The gear sector 247 is in engagement with and adapted to be operated by the gear pinion 248 which is in turn driven by the motor 120 through suitable speed reducing gearing.

Theoperation of the modified forms illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7, and in Fig. 8 is fundamentally as described above. By suitable control of the reversible motor 120 the runner may be operated with great accuracy and nicety.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitute preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and that chan es may be made therein without departing rom the scope of the invention which is defined in the appended claim.

lVhat is claimed is:

In an apparatus for grinding, of the class described, a table for carrying a member to be ground, a runner mounted above the table, and means for controlling the position of the runner comprising a driving shaft, a mechanical connection between the runner and the shaft, a dash-pot in said mechanical connection for cushioning downward movement of the runner toward the member to be ground, said dash-pot embodyin piston and cylinder elements one connecte to the runner and the other connected to the shaft,

and a reversible electric motor connected to said shaft for operating saidshaft to positively determine the position of one'of said elements.

In testimony whereofI hereto afiix my signature.

GEORGE I. THEILE.

is 'rotatabl supported within the gear housing 110. ixed upon the nut 108 IS a worm gear 115, which is constrained to rotate with the nut 108 and which meshes with the worm 116 mounted upon a shaft 117, which is connected by means of a suitable coupling 118 to the shaft 119 of the motor 120. The gear housing 110 and motor 120 are mounted upon a supporting standard 111 which is supported upon. beams 112 of the supporting structure. The standard 111 is 

